Dispensing machine



Nov. 21, 1951 V A, R, URIQ 2,576,781

DISPENSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 23, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVEN R I. 3flldo 1?. fur/011i BY 71 170 R N E Y Nov. 27, 1951 A. R. CURIONIDISPENSING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 23, 1946 fur/0111' ATTORNEY Nov. 27, 1951 A. R. CURIONI 1 v nxspsnsmc mourns Filed Jam. 23;1946 s Sheets-Sheet s Ai""IIIHIIIlllllllmlllllflllllll lllllnuw I IIIINVENTOR HTTO Patented Nov. 27, 1951 OF -ICE;

DISPENSING MACHINE Aldo R. -Curioni, New York; N. Y., ,assignor toSarionl vompanyglna, New YorlnN. Y., a corporat icn orNewYoi-kAppllcationelanuary' 23, 1946*, Serial No. 642,970

The present invention relates to means .for aligning and dispensing 1definite portions of fragile, slender articles such as macaroni orspaghetti.

Macaroni and. spaghetti are generally sold. to housewives in cardboardcartons or packages containing approximately onepound .of the spaghettior macaroni. The packaging of these particular foods is an item. ofconsiderableexpense for the long thin sticks must first be aligned sothat their axes are all substantially parallel with each other andthereafter the slender sticks orlrods must be placed on weighing scalesto form portions or the particular desired weight. Performing theseoperations manually is. tedious; expensive, and objectionableforsanitary reasons. The utilization of machinery for grouping the sticksinto portions of desired quantity presentsthe d'ilficul'ty of aligningthe sticks and grouping them into portions without excessive breakage.The mac aroni and spaghetti sticks arequite fragile or brittleandsnapinto pieces roughly handled; housewives object strongly topurchasing packages of macaroni or spaghetti and'lindin'g the sticksbroken into short pieces upon opening or the packages.

The. present invention aims to minimize or overcome the above and otherdifficulties and'to provide a machine for. automaticallyaligning and.dispensing desired quantities of macaronror spaghetti. in readiness forpackaging.

An objector the present invention. is to provide a means-and.construction adapted to automaticallyldispense'. bundles of macaroni orspaghetti ready for packaging.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automaticallyaligninglslender articles such as macaroni.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a new and. improved means.adaptedlto automaticallyweigh out desired portionsof. macaroni.

Still another object of. the inventionis toprovide a means orconstruction adaptedtto facilitate and maintain alignment of spaghetti.and

macaroni during; its movement through said means or construction.

Astill further object of the invention is to provide means adapted .tointermittently delay-the flow oi macaroni or spaghetti throughadispens,ing machine duringintervals when the machine is dispensing apredetermined portion-thereon Other and further objects of theinventionwill be: obvious upon an. understandingof the illustrativeembodiment-about to be described, ortwill 2 advantages not referred toherein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment or the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the in've'ntio'nhas been chosen for purposesof illustration and description and is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of the specification, whereinf Fig. l is anelevational view showing one end of the present machine;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational View of the present machine;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 33 of Fig. 1;and

Fig. 4 is a sectional View showing means for movably supporting a partof the machine.

In the ensuingdescnption of the present machine and operation the termsmacaroniand spaghetti will be frequently used. The use of the machine isnot limited specifically to spaghetti or macaroni but these two termsare used for illustrative purposes; the machine is equally adaptable toaligning and dispensing foodproducts such as vermicelli or otherarticles not" util= ized for food, such as slender lengths of glass tubing or the like;

Described-generally, the present invention provides a machine adapted toreceive slender sticks of spaghetti or macaroni and bring them intoalignment so that their longitudinal axes are substantially parallel toeach other; to transfer the sticks of macaroni in aligned relationshipto a' hopper'or receptacle, and to effect removal ofdefinitelpredetermined quantities of the spaghetti or macaroni from thehopper or receptacle;

Referring again to the drawings and more partlc'ularly to Figs.2 and 3thereof, the machine of the present invention is illustrated supportedon legs I which are mounted on a suitable base" or platform 2. Most ofthe operating parts of the present invention are carried by or betweentwo spaced right hand and left hand side members or plates 4 and 5, theside plates being secured by bolts 1 or other appropriate meansto theupper parts of the supporting legs I, andbeing maintained spacedrelationship by studs or rods 8.

An initial requirement in preparing the spa-v ghetti or macaroni inaccordance with the present invention is to bring the slender lengths ofmaterial, as received from drying racks, into aligned relationship. Thisaligning process is commencedby the downwardly inclined members orsurfaces 10 and H which form togetherwith beundicated inthe appendedclaims. and various theside walls or plates 4 and 5, a hopper or to theshaft 80 by a nut and bolt 83;

arrests fiuence of the cross shaft 34 throughthe lntermediation or leverconnecting rod ligand lever 16. The last three-mentioned parts are shownmore clearly in Zptthe draWings Rapidly jiggling or vibrating-of theconveyor belt 31 by the shoe lfl ten ds to shaketheslender sticks ofmacaroni or spaghetti down into an evenlydisposed layers orlayers asthefibelt and macaroni pass over the'surfaceof the-shoe 10.

' To still further facilitate distribution and passage of the slendersticks ofmacaroni or spaghetti in substantially contiguous relationshipand uniform layer orlayers alongthefbelt and through themachine. thereis utilized an oscillating barrier "or gate 'lewhich moves rapidly upand down withrespect to the moving belt 37. The gateis is-shown in Fig;'3,-located above the conveyor belt and beyond the shoe it, beingcarried'by spaced arms ill of a sleeve 11- xnounted on the shaft all. Anoscillating or rocking motion is imparted to the shaft Bill-Fig. 2) andgate 10 by the cross shaft 34 through intermediation of lever 14,connecting rod "15, lever 16, connecting rod" 8!, and lever arm 82clamped It is preferred that a torsion s ring 84 be used to urge the armI9 and gate 78 into downwardposi' tion; the various actuating levers andshafts impose their lifting action in opposition to the effect of' thespring 84, Movement of. the gate 18 rapidly up and down to open andclose the passage through which'the material passes as it moves alongwith the conveyor belt 31 tends to smooth out irregularities which mayoccur in the distribution of the material along the belt and to separatepieces of spaghetti which may have become accidentally stuck togetherduring previous manufacturing operations.

In certain instances, for eiiamplein utilizing a machine in connectionwith packaging slender articles of different diameters such asspaghetti, macaroni or vermicelli, it is desirable to change theamplitude of the oscillation ofthe gate member 18. Fig. 2 illustrates ameans for-accomplishing this. A screw member or bolt 86 threaded into anut or clamp 01 bolted to the side member 4 of" the machine is providedwith spaced lugs or projections BB adapted to receive between them oneend 89 of a pivoted bell-crank 9i The other end 92 of the bellcrank 9|isconnected with one endofa rod 94,the other end of this rod 94-beingconnected adjacent one end of the connecting rod 8| that moves the "gatemember 18 through the lever arm 02 and shaft 80. The connecting rod 8|moves to and from indicated generally by the arrow thereon. i

Screwing the bolt86 in orout of a nut 811s effective to shift theposition of the spaced lugs 08 and the end 89 oibell crank9lthu-srotating the bell crank about its pivot. This causes-upward'anddownward-movement of the end 920i the bell crank 9| and theconnectinglink 94 and thus shifts the position of the end of therod'tlwhich actuates the shaft 80 and gate member Hi When the contact pointbetween the-end of the connecting rod 8i and the lever arm 82 isadjacent theouter or free end of the lever arm a small motion of theoscillating gateimember 78 will be obtained and when the contact pointis close to the inner end of lever arm 82 the gate 18 will be moved to agreaterdegree. This difference in motion is obtained by virtue. of thefact that even though the amplitude of move-- ment ofthe connecting rod8i remainssubstantial-ly-constant, the length of the lever arm.

6 through -which this motion-istransmitted.to the shaft 80- is changedto vary the movement of the gate 18'.

The combination: of natural gravity new of spaghetti-ormacaroni throughthe opening 13. movementbeneath-th'e adjustable gate 40-, over vibratingshoe 10 and past the oscillating gate le -is effective to spread theslender and fragile sticks evenly alongthe belt and to provideeve'n flowand delivery of the material by 'the'belt. The agitating or i shakingand smoothing of the various parts is sufilcient to facilitate even"distribution and smooth fiow= of- 'material yet it is not so -'1foughasto cause objectionable breakage of the slender and fragile sticks ofmaterial. v

As the sphaghetti leaves the end ofthe belt 31 it is caughtby ashelfortray -95 interposed Joetween the'belt 37 and a receptacle or hopperadapted to receivethe spaghetti sticks. The shelf ortray1ike structureSliminimizes the possibility of macaroni stick-s twisting about uponleaving the belt 31 and falling with theiraxes vertically disposed; itmaintains theiraxessubstantially parallel. The shelf '95also minimizesbreakage of the fragile material as it passes from the conveyor to thehopper85. The shelf is shown securedto a shaft whichpreferablyoscillates so as tomove the shelf 95 up and down as indicatedby the arrowthereon The shaft 91 which carries this shelf is caused tooscillate or rock about its axis by picking up movement from the samelever armfls which. vibrates the shoe I0; connecting rod 98 transfersmotion fromelever arm 16 to leverarm. 100, which is clamped to the shaft51 byanut and bolt 10! (Fig. 2). The rocking motion of this shelf.orutrayn95 reduces the possibility .of sticks of material accidentallypiling up similarly to amass: oflogs in a log jamb. The sticks drop offthetend of theconveyor 31 intothe rocking shelf. 95, roll along themoving shelf, and drop .oiT the edge thereof onto aninclined chute I03,roll down the chute. past thegate I04; which willbe openias indicatedbythe dotted lines; andiintouthe elongated receptacle 85.

It should. be. noted. (Fig; 3) that when the stream of macaroni isflowinginto the receptacle 8.5 the door I l 9 .and the intermediate stopmember lllluarei in the. positions indicated. by dotted lines. That is.the intermediate stop. I04 is open and the receptacle. door I!!! isclosed... These two parts and. their features will be hereinafterdescribed.

The elongatedreceptacle or hopper 85 iscarried on an arm or.postrl05.;which.is. connected to ascale .106. for: weighing the contentsof the hopper, The. weighing scale is. of conventional commerciallyavailable type and the constructional and operational detailsthereofwill not beldescribed. herein. When a i definite. predetermined.quantity of macaroni. .or .sphaghetti. has been received in :theelongated hopper 85 it is. desirable thatthe .hopper be emptied and pre+pared :to receive anadditional quantitytof-material- This. feature isachieved; as follows Cone nected. with thesame. post. or arm. I 05.which, car-1 ries the hoppenxBiand. actuated by movement-of the hopperand .this, post, is. a bar or lever 10]. supported on a fulcrum I08intermediate the ends thereof. The free endof the lever I0] is providedwith an electricalncontact 09 adapted to touch another electricalcontact H 0 carried by an arm Ill, both of the contact points. beingconnected with. an electrical circuit indicated. by the wires H3. and.H14. When thecontactpoints aavavsn I09 and' IIll-are-together; dueitothe entryof sufficientweight 30f macaroni into the elongated.

receptacle 85, an electrical circuit is closed and current flows throughthe circuit. The wires H3 and H4 are joined to connections of a solenoidH8 whichactuates amechanism for cons-V trolling the opening and closingof a hopper door H3 and the intermediate gate I04. 'When the contactsI09 and H arehclosed and the circuit energized a link or rod I20 ismoved by the core of the solenoid to operate the gate I 04 and door H9controlling mechanismshown at the left of Fig. 3.;When the circuit isenergized current flows through the coils of the solenoid H8 and therod; I 20is moved upwardly approximately one inch. The component partsof the electrical circuit and its hook-up'are of conventionaltype andwillnotbe described in detail herein. The lower end of thelink I20 issecured by a pin I2I to a cam I22 and-upward movement of the link I20rotates the operating cam I22 and sleeve I23 about shaft I25 inclockwisedirection, in opposition to torsion springs I26 which tend to maintainthe cam I22 and link I23 in down-. ward position. The use of the torsionsprings I25 is optional as will be shown from later descriptions. Ridingagainst and actuated by the cam surfaces are a pin I21 connected tomeans for operating theintermediate gate I04, and a roller I28 connectedwith means for operating the door H0 of the hopper 85.

Whenthe solenoid link. I20 is located in its downward position the camI22 is so positioned thatthe pin I21 carried by the extension I29 of thepivoted intermediate gate member I04 is in contact with the surface ofthe cam. A spring I30 secured to the extension of the pivotedintermediate gate I04 and to the framework of the machine pullsthe pinI21 firmly against the cam surface;.with the solenoid link in its down-vward position the cam surface is effective to hold the pin I21 and gateextension I29 to the right in opposition to the'tension of the springI30. and to thus maintain the opposite gate portion I04 in open positionso that sticks of macaroni or spaghettimay pass from the inclined chuteI03 into receptacle 85. When the solenoid link I20 is moved upwardly thecam I22 is rotated in a clockwise direction and the spring I30 pulls theextension I29 of the gate I04 against the retreating surface of the cam.The surface of the cam is so designed so that it eventually moves out ofcontact with the pin I21 and the spring I30, tending to rotate theintermediate member about the shaft I3I in a counter-clockwisedirection, causes the lower end of the gate to abut against the loweredge of the inclined chute I03; this stops the flow of material alongthe chute and into the hopper.

When the solenoid link I20 is in its lowermost position the intermediategate I04 is open and the cam roller I28 is in contact with a high pointor area of the cam I22. In this relationship the lever I33, link I34 andlever I35 are in their lowermost or closed position'as indicated by thedotted positions of Fig. 3. At such time the free end of the lever I35is out of contact; with the extension I31of the hopper door H9 and thedoor H9 which is carried by the arm I38 secured to pivots I39, is closeddue to the effect of gravity. As the cam I22 rotates in a clockwise di--rection the roller I28 rides along the high surface of the cam until itreaches the cutaway portion thereof and then moves radially inwardlytoward the center of the'cam. Spiral torsion springs I40 extending"about thesleeve-I4I and shaft I42 and; secured to the lever I33 andframework of the machine cause the roller to press firmly against thecam and hence move inwardly along the cutaway surface of the cam.Movement of the roller I28,along thecutaway surface of the cam lifts theend of lever I33, the link I34 and'lever'I35 upwardly, the free end ofthe lever I35 moving into contact with the extension I31 of the pivotedhopper door I I9 to thereby lift the door and allow marcaroni to rollout of the hopper into a pan: or tray I43. The macaroni may be removedmanually from the pan and packaged or placed'on a conveyor.' The pan I43is intended to illustrate generally means for receiving measuredportions of aligned macaroni or spaghetti; in actualpractice themeasured portions are pref erably guided directly into waitin boxes orother containers which are automatically moved beneath and away from thereceptacle and any appropriate chute. i

It should be noted that the cam I22 and the members operativelyconnecting the cam with the hopper door H9 and intermediate gate I04 areso constructed'that the gate I04 is closed prior to opening of thehopper door H9, and that the hopper door H9 is closed prior to openingof the intermediate gate I04; thelcam I22 aotuates the door andintermediate gate in timed relation with respect to each other. This isimportant; for the conveyor belt 31 and large hopper I2 are continuallyoperating to align and transfer sticks of material tothe inclined chuteI03. In the event the fiow'of material from the belt 31 and rocking traycontinued uninterruptedly during intervals when the hopper 85 was beingemptied it would be difficult or impossible to accurately dispensecorrect'weights of material in each instance for packaging.

The operation of the mechanism for controlling the gate I04 and door H9may be tested manually, orthe mechanism may be operated manually inemergencies by providing a manual-. ly operablehandle or lever I45pivoted at. I46 intermediate its ends to the frame of the machine and atits free end I41 to the' solenoid link I20. Movement of the handle upand down lifts or lowersthe solenoid link I20. and thus actuates thecontrolling mechanisms. A spring I48 may be utilized to urge the manuallever and solenoid link into downward position.

- To put themachine into action the driving motor (not shown) is firststarted. When the -motor has been started and. the drive chain or beltI4 is revolving to rotate the sprocket and operatethe machine, longslender sticks of fraginto the, large hopper I2 located at the upper.

part of the machine. The oscillatory or shaking motion of the downwardlyinclined surface II vi brates or shakes the macaroni so that itgradually becomes transversely disposed and moves downytoward the bottomof the hopper I2 to emerge from the opening I3 at the lower partthereof. The aligned slender sticks .are then picked up by the movingconveyor belt 31 and carried beneath theend of the adjustable gate I0,the gate tending to control the flow of ad-' mission of, the sticks outof the exit I3 and along with the conveyor belt 31. Adjacent to thelower end of the gate I0 the belt 31 passes over 2, vibrating oragitating shoe 10 which shakes the belt to form sticks of material intoa substan-- tiallyluniform layer or layers. The macaroni is carriedalong .by. themoving conveyor belt and slightly isiaccumulated in the"hopper.

reaches the oscillating, gate the action of which'is tofurtheriron outor smooth irregularitios that may occur in the distribution of the"macaroni alongthe belt 31 and to separate sticks ,0! material which mayi be adhered together.

From the conveyor belt the sticks of material pass onto a rocking plateor shelf 05, the shelf maintaining the parallelism of macaroni andminimizing breakage thereof by allowing the sticks to rolled the end ofthe shelf onto a downsticks of macaroni continue to accumulate thereinuntil a predetermined weight sufficient to move the armor post l05of thescale I06 downwardly As the hopper and post move downwardly a lever armI01 mounted on a fulcrum I08 closes electrical contacts I09 and I I andenergizes the circuit of a solenoid I I8 that .actuates themechanismslfor controlling movements of the intermediate gate I04 andhopper door I I9. Whenthe electrical circuit is energized a solenoidlink or rod I20 moves upwardly to rotate an operating cam I22 inclockwise direction. This clockwise rotation of the cam I22 firsteffects closing of the gate I04 against the lower end of the inclinedchute I03, thereby cutting off the flow of macaroni entering the hopper85, and immediately thereafter opens the door I I9 of the elongatedhopper. The aligned sticks. of macaroni flow out of the hope per into acollecting chute and receiving means "such as tray I43 or thepackageitself. Asthe.

emptied hopper 85 returns to the upper position the'clectricalcontactsI09 and H0 are opened and the electrical circuit and the coils of thesolenoid I I8 are de-energized. De-energizing the circuit allows thesolenoid link I20 to move downwardly under the influence of the springsI26 and I48 secured to the sleeve I23 and handle I45, respectively. Thenormalinfluence of these springs is to urge the solenoid link I20downwardly in opposition to the magnetic influence of the solenoidcoils. Rotation of the cam in a counter-clockwise direction first causesclosing of the hopper door II9 and'immediat ly thereafter effectsopening of the intermediate gate I04, allowing the macaroni sticks toagain flow into the hopper 85. The operation of the machine iscontinuous and as long as spaghetti or macaroni is fed into the largeopen hopper I2 there will be portions of definite quantity issuing fromthe delivery end of the machine. The large hopper I2 and varioustransfer mechanisms line up; the spaghetti and maintain the alignmentthereof during movement through the machine; the combination of smallerelongated hopper 85 andscale mechanisms receive the aligned maca- "roni'and dispense it in predetermined portions.

Tl'ie'mechanismscooperateto deliver desired pertions of spaghetti ormacaroni ready for packaging.

It will be seen that the present invention provides a machine foraligning and dispensing definite predetermined portions of slenderfragile, rod-like material such as spaghetti or macaroni. The machine isautomatic and rapid in operation and eliminates numerous steps that areextreme- 1y tedious and which increase packaging costs when performedmanually. The elimination of numerous manual operations is mostdesirable for sanitary reasons. The aligning and dispensing is achievedwith a minimum amount of breakage. Numerous parts may-be constructedfrom light, strong metal such as aluminum, which makes for a strong andlight weight machine. The machine is sturdy in construction and wellable to withstand any rough usage to which it may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form construction and arrangementof the parts herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: '1. In a machine of theclass described adapted to provide a substantially uniform stream ofmaterial, the combination of a hopper including an oscillatable bottomwall and an end wall movable toward and away from said bottom wall, saidwalls being normally spaced apart to provide a discharge opening, legmembers supporting said bottom wall at spaced locations, meanssupporting said leg members at locations spacedfrom said bottom wall,means for movin said leg members to and fro to thereby oscillate saidbottom wall and move material toward and through said discharge opening,transferring means below said discharge opening for transferring fromthe discharge opening material delivered therethrough, a guide memberbelow said transferring means for guiding material toward a receivingcompartment, and, an oscillatable member having a portion extendingbeneath said transferring means and abovesad guide member forreceivinmaterial fromthe transferring means and lowering it toward the guidemember.

2. Inamachine of the class described adapted to, provide a substantiallyuniform stream of material, the combination of a hopper including anoscillatable bottom wall and an end wall movable toward and away fromsaid bottom wall, said walls being normally spaced apart to provide adischarge opening, leg members supportingsaid bottom wall at spacedlocations, means supporting said leg members at locations spaced fromsaid bottom wall, means for moving said leg members to and fro tothereby oscillate said bottom wall and move material toward and throughsaid discharge opening, transferring means below said discharge openinfor transferring from the discharge opening material deliveredtherethrough, a guide member below said transferring means for guidingmateral toward a receiving compartment, an oscillatable member, having aportion extending beneath said transferrin means and above said guidemember for receiving material from the transferring means and loweringit toward the guide member, and means operatively interconnecting saidoscillatable member with the leg member moving means for actuating thelatter withthe former.

3. Ina machine of theclassdescribedadapted to provide a substantiallyuniform stream of material, the combinat on of a hopper including anoscillatable bottom wall and an end wall movable toward and away fromsaid bottom wall, said walls being normally spaced apart to provide adischarge opening, leg members supporting said bottom wall at spacedlocations, means supporting said leg members at locations spaced fromsaid bottom wall, means for moving said leg members to and fro tothereby oscillate said bottom wall and move material toward and throughsaid discharge opening, transferring means below a said dischargeopening for transferring from the and an oscillatable member having aportion extending beneath said transferring means and above said guidemember for receiving material from the transferring means and loweringit toward the guide member.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3, in which means is provided forselectively varying the ,amountof movement of the member whichreciprocates toward and away from the transferring means.

5. In a machineof the class described adapted I to provide asubstantially uniform stream of material, the combination of ahopper'including an .oscillatable bottom wall and an end wall movabletoward and away from said bottom wall, said walls being normally spacedapart to provide a discharge pening, leg members supporting said bottom.wall at spaced locations, means support- 'ing said leg members atlocations spaced from .said bottom wall, means for moving said legmembers to and fro to thereby oscillate "said 'bottom wall and movematerial. toward and through said discharge opening, transferring meansbelow said discharge opening fortransferring from the discharge openingmaterial delivered therethrough, means adiacent said dis charge openingfor agitating said transferring means to smooth out materials thereon, aguide member below said transferring means for guid- ,ing materialtoward a receiving compartment,

and an oscillatable member having a portion extending, beneath saidtransferring means and abovefsaid guide member for receiving materialfrom the transferring means and lowering it to- Ward the guide member. b

. 6. Amachine as claimed in claim 1, in which said transferring means,is upwardly inclined from a location adjacent said discharge opening toa location adjacent said oscillatable member.

means supporting said leg members at locations spaced from said bottomwall, means for moving I said legmembers to and fro to thereby oscillatesaid bottom wall and move material toward and through said dischargeopening, transferring means below said discharge opening fortransferring from the discharge opening material delivered therethrough,a guide member below said transferring means for guiding material towardA a receiving compartment, an oscillatable member having a portionextending beneath said transferring means and above said guide memberfor receiving material from the transferring means and lowering ittowardthe guide member, and means for intermittently blockingandreleasing material moving along said guide member.

8. In a machine of the class described adapted to provide asubstantially uniform stream of material, the combination of a hopperincluding anoscillatable bottom wall and an end wall movable toward andaway from said bottom wall,

' said walls being normally spaced apartto provide a dischargeopening,leg members supporting said bottom wall at spaced locations,means supporting said leg members at'locations spaced from said bottomwall, means for moving said leg members to and fro to thereby oscillatesaid bottom wall and move material toward and through said dischargeopening, transferring means below said discharge opening fortransferring from thedischarge opening material delivered therethrough,a guidemember below said transferring means for guiding material towarda receiving compartment, an oscillatablemember having a portionextending beneathsaid transferringmeans and above said guide member forreceiving material from the transferring means and lowering it towardthe guide member, means for intermittently blocking a stream of materialmoving along said guide member a receiving compartment below said guidemember for catching said streamgof material when not-blocked, and meansfor opening the receiving compartment material is blocked. ALDO R.CURIONI.

REFERENCES CITED I The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent: l

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 11,503 Wood July 9, 1895 ,Re.21,015 Dilger et al Feb. 28, 1939 593,532 Campbell Nov; 9, 18971,141,861 Bausman June 1, 1915 1,281,667 Sargent Oct. 15, 1918 1,300,441Marsa Apr. 15, 1919 1,551,818 Garnsey Sept. 1, 1925 1,588,904 ParkerJune 15 1926 1,908,771 Lied May 16, 1933 2,100,874 Ryan et al Nov. 30,1937 2,139,903 7 Mason et al Dec. 13,1938 2,226,236 Bleam Dec. 24, 19402,348,372 Weckerly May 9,1944

FOREIGN PATENTS, Number Country Date r 489,264 Germany Dec. 10,1927664,175

Germany Aug. 22,1938

when the stream of

